U.S. Transportation Department Releases Airline On-Time Arrival Rates
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
The U.S. Transportation Department conducts several studies to determine the on-time arrival rates for all of the major U.S. airlines, and has recently released results for the May 2009 travel season. According to the latest report, U.S. Airlines had an 80% on-time rate in May 2009, an increase from 79% in May 2008. USAToday.com reports that most airlines improved their on-time arrival performance every month this year except March, and this may have been attributed to a reduced number of flights and airlines making fewer seats available.The Bureau of Transportation Statistics results show that Hawaiian airlines had a 90.26% on-time arrival rate, becoming the leading contender of the list. SkyWest, Pinnacle, Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines followed suit, ranking in with 83- to 86%.Comair fell to the bottom of the list with a 65.67% on-time arrival percentage. The average for all airlines was 80.49%.
On-time arrival rates are a valuable indicator of service and overall performance for the major airlines, and can help consumers make a more informed decision when they have the option to choose between different carriers. Flights are considered to be 'on time' as long as they arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time. This has changed over the years, because airlines originally reported being on time when they were permitted to publish their estimated flight time which may or may not have been accurate.
While the on-time rates look promising, there are several other factors to consider when selecting the best carrier. Baggage handling processes, the customer service experience, and charges associated with baggage also play a role in the value of the airline. This set of statistics from the Bureau of Transportation also reveals that customer complaints, mishandled baggage and cancellations showed some signs of improvements since the same time last year.
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